Piston ring



Patentcl Apr. 15, 1930 UNITED S-TATES PATENT OFFICE IA'L J. HENNING ANI) WILBU'R H. JUDY, O]? BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA PISTON RING Application filed September 8, 1927. Serial No. 218,302.

Our inventon relates to a new means of preventng the leakage f steam or gases through the clearance space between the piston and cylnder walls of recprocating engnes and has for its primary object a great mprovement in the known methods thereby greatly reducing repar costs and at the same time efi'ectng a great saving in uel.

We are aware that rna1y types of piston rngs have been proposed for efiectvely sealng the clearance space between the pston and cylnder walls of recprocatng engines. In the majority 0f piston ring desgns beretofore proposed eflective sealing depends 5 upon a ring or rngs beng expandecl snugly aganst the eylnder wall but our nvention refers to a new method radically dfierent frena anything heretofore proposed and we employ an entrely new prncple by means of which a gas sea1 s effectively accomplshed.

T0 those versed in the art it is well known that in steam turbine design t is extremely rnportant that blades and nozzles be arranged so that losses due to eddying, shock,

compresson, anc1 frction are as small as possible.

After much research and expermentation we have fonnd that through the use of those elements objectionable in steam turbine constructon we are able to create a steam or gas seal whch can be used to seal the elearance space between the pston anc1 cylnder walls of recprocatng engnes.

We have dis'covered thai: reciprocating engnes equppecl wth gas seal pston rings may be operatecl at hgher speeds and With 1ess fuel consumpton than when equipped weh 1netallic packng or sealing rngs. Also that our gas sea1 ring may be used Wth superheated steam as eifectvely as wth saturated stearn and that no lubrcaton of the cylnder walls is necessary because the piston floats On the gas sea1.

Reference Will now be had to che accompanyng drawngs in whch Fig. 1 s a cross-sectonal view of a cy1nder havng mounted theren a. pston embodyng rny mprovements;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view partly in secton of a pston ring embodying my im provements; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional VeW Of a part of the cylnder wall and piston.

As a preferred form of our invention, We have illustrated a pston 1 mourited wthn a cylinder havng a wall 2. As is usual in this type of structure, a certan amount of clearance is provided between the pston and the cylinder wall, but t Will be observed that a departure has been made from the usual practice, in that We do not provde any pston rngs'or packng te fill ths space and contact With the Wall of the cylinder.

Between pston ring 1 and cylnder wall 2 s clearance space 3, which s very s1nall bui; through whch high pressure gas or steam passes rapdly When admtted to the cylnder. VVhen che stea1n or gas reaches point 4 it is released nto groove 5 Where t expands very rapdly wth accompanyng great increase in velocity and strkes lip 6 whch de flects t into reversng chamber 7 where an eddy 8 of extremely hgh velocty s set up.

Due to the suclden reversal of' the hgn veloc ity gases in chamber 7 t becomes hghly cornpressed at point 9 and is released with great force against the stream of ncomi'ng gases near point 4 thereby sealing groove 5 aganst the further acbnission of' stearn or gases through clearance space 3. Top sealng groove 5 seals the eylnder on the down stroke and b0ttom groove 5Aseals the cylnder on the up stroke.

Practcally no stea1n or gas passes lip 6 but as an adced precauton We prevde one 01' more water seal grooves 10 between upper and lower gas seal grooves 5 and 5A.

It Will be noted that as the clearance space between the piston and tbecylnder wall s filled by the gas 01 steam, or other pressure fluid, no part of the piston comes in contact wth the cylnder vvall, but the latter flcats in a poscon spaced wthn the wall in its connection wt-h an engne, as wc1]. as reducng the wear upon the parts.

Our sealing grooves may be out into a ring as described and shown in Figure 1 or they may be cutinto a ring cast integra with the follower plate or in a rin cast ntegral with the piston and we thereore desire it to be understood that our invention relates in general to the sealing of piston clearances in reciprocating engines by means of a steam or gas seal and that we do not limit ourselves to any particular design Or construction of ring.

It will be observe'd that our invention is readily applicable to any device wherein a fluid under pressure is confined in a cylinder by a piston. Ii; Inz1y, .for instance, be used in connection with water pumps, the groove 5 acting efliciently to seal the space between the plunger and the cylinderof the pump; that is, any water or other liquid entering the space 3 Will have its direction reversed in the groove 5 and will meet any incoming liquid and repel the same.

The groove 5 Wi1l -preferably be inclined inwardly, as shown in Fi'gs. 2 and 3, in a direction awuy from the adjacent face of the piston, or, in other words, in the direction of. the incoming fluid;

It Will be noted that the groove 5, as shown, is inclined in a direction away from the active face of the piston adjacent to Which it is located. It is-also preferred to hzwe the groove somewhut deepcr thnn the Wi 11311 of its mouth, although wedo not wish to 1imit ourserves to the exactdimensions of the groove shown. The reversing chamber 7 may also be of slightly greater width than the groove 5 Which leads thereinto in order to give room for the eddy 8 set up by the fluid striking thebottom of the chamber 7.

What we claim is:

1. A iston for a cylinder adapted to'con tain a uid under pressure, said piston baving a relatively loose fit in the cylin'der to provi e a assage for fluid therebetween, end means or reversingthe direction of flow of said fluid end directing the fluid against the fluid passing between the cylinder end piston to oppose the passage thereof, said means for reversing the direction of flow of the fluid comprising a groove in the piston communicating with the passage between the cylinder end piston, the groove being inclined towards that end of the piston from which the fluid passes and being provided with a concavo botbom.

2. A iston for a. cylinder adapted to contain a uid under pressure, said piston having a relatively loose fit in the cylinder to provide a passage for fluid therebetween; means for expandin end therebyincreasing the velocity of the uid passing between the piston and cylinder, end meansfor directing the expanded fluid against the fluid passing between the cylinder end pistonto oppose theassa e thereof, said means for reversing the irect1on of flow of ,thefluid comprising a groove in the piston communicating with the passage between the cylinder end piston, the groove being inclined towards that end of the piston from which the fluid passes, and 2111 enlarged chamber at the bottom of the groove.

3. A iston fora cylinder adapted to contain a uid under pressure, said pston having EL relatively loose fit in the cylinder to provide a passage for fluid therebetween, n1eans for expanding anni therebyincreasing the velocity of the fluid passing between the-piston an'd cylinder, end means f01 directing the expanded fluid against the fluid passing bet-ween the cylinder and piston to oppose -the passagethereof, said means for reversing the direction of flow 0f thefluid comprising a groove in the piston communicating with the passage between the cylinder and piston, the groove being inclined towards that end of the piston from which thefluid pnsses, and an enlarged torusshaped chamber at the bottom of the groove.

In testimony whereof .we have hereunto set 0111 hands in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

PAUL J. HENNING. WILBURI. J UDY. 

